Evaluation in the Government of Canada
Context
Requirements for evaluation in the Government of Canada are outlined in the following:
- Policy on Results
- Directive on Results
- Mandatory Procedures for Evaluations
- Standards for Evaluation
The Policy on Results came into effect on July 1, 2016. It replaced three Treasury Board policies, among them the Policy on Evaluation. Subsequently, the Centre of Excellence for Evaluation ceased to exist, with evaluation activities being handled by the newly created Results Division.
The Secretariat continues to demonstrate functional leadership in implementing, using and developing evaluation practices across the federal government.
Evaluation at the federal level
In the Government of Canada, evaluations are undertaken to:
- collect and analyze evidence to assess the performance of programs, initiatives and policies in a systematic and neutral way
- consider how programs can be improved
Evaluations help inform decision-making, innovation and accountability by:
- helping program managers and executives improve the achievement of results of their program or department
- informing memoranda to Cabinet, Treasury Board submissions, and expenditure management generally
- supporting communication to Parliament and Canadians on the results that departments are achieving
- facilitating innovation and learning within organizations
Evaluation resources
The Results Division of the Secretariat offer useful information, tools and resources for professionals in evaluation in the Government of Canada and anyone interested in evaluation at the federal level.
Policy Documents
- Policy on Results (2016)
- Directive on Results (2016), including the Mandatory Procedures for Evaluation (2016) and the Standards on Evaluation (2016)
- Evaluation competencies
Resources
- Guide to Rapid Impact Evaluation
- Integrating Gender-Based Analysis Plus into Evaluation: A Primer (2019)
- Policy on Results: What is Evaluation?
- Policy on Results: What is the difference between Evaluation and Internal Audit in the federal government?
- Program Evaluation and supporting assessments
- Theory-Based Approaches to Evaluation: Concepts and Practices
- Evaluation 101 Backgrounder
- Capacity Survey on Results functions
- Evaluation of the 2009 Policy on Evaluation
- Management Action Plan in Response to the Recommendations of the Evaluation of the 2009 Policy on Evaluation
Archived
- What to Consider When Calibrating Evaluations Archived
- External Research and Reference Material Archived
- Study of the Evaluation Function In the Federal Government Archived
- Supporting Effective Evaluations: A Guide to Developing Performance Measurement Strategies Archived
- Assessing Program Resource Utilization When Evaluating Federal Programs Archived
- Guidance on the Neutral Assessment of the Departmental Evaluation Function Archived
- Results-Based Management Lexicon Archived
- Guidance on the Governance and Management of Evaluations of Horizontal Initiatives Archived
- Professional Ethics and Standards for the Evaluation Community in the Government of Canada Archived
- Program Evaluation Methods Archived
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